ALL OVER ME
SYNOPSIS:
Fifteen-year-old best friends Claude (Alison Folland) and Ellen
(Tara Subkoff) have lived within walking distance of each other's
apartment buildings in New York’s Hell's Kitchen since
kindergarten. With school just getting out for a long, sticky
summer, the pair's established plan is to start a riot girl band
together. Ellen has suddenly begun spending all her time with
Mark (Cole Hauser), a thuggish new boyfriend who keeps her
supplied with all the drugs, while Claude works in the local
pizza parlour with gay friend Jesse (Wilson Cruz). When Luke (Pat
Briggs), a musician friend who lives in the same building, is
murdered, Claude’s life is turned upside-down: her
relationship with Ellen begins to disintegrate and she meets Lucy
(Leisha Hailey) at a girl punk rock club. All the while, Claude
is finally beginning to realise that her affection for Ellen may
well run a little deeper than the accepted norms of heterosexual
friendship.
"All Over Me is cinema verité, exploring the self-image,
self-doubts, friendships and sexuality of a teenage girl, living
in a tough NY suburb against a music background. The Sichel
sisters have created an acutely realistic look at teenagers
today, with mono-syllabic ‘teen-talk’, no frills and
every imperfection on display. The two lead performances are
riveting: Alison Folland as the insecure, ugly duckling Claude,
and Tara Subkoff, full of outward bravado while inwardly
floundering. The scenes where Claude preens before the
‘fat’ mirror in front of the fridge, as she gorges
herself on ice scream are haunting, as is Ellen’s dark-eyed
little girl lost, set on the path of self-destruction of
experimental drugs. Especially commendable are the nuances, the
shades of grey that are part and parcel of relationships and so
well canvassed here. The entire cast is engaging, and Leisha
Hailey’s film debut as Lucy shines with a blatant kind of
honestly. The complicated issue of sexuality is broached with
ambiguity, allowing the viewer to understand the complexities and
implications. While it may not be new to explore the world and
sexuality of teenagers, this slice of life has its own poignancy.
It may not appeal to everyone – but for those who enter this
disturbing world, it is a rewarding experience."
Louise Keller
"Films about teenagers growing up and confronting their
own sexuality are nothing new, whether that sexuality is
heterosexual or homosexual. School girl angst, drug
experimentation, loutish boyfriends, single mums and their lovers
. . . You might get the feeling that it's all been done before
and you'd be right. In what was a lacklustre year at this year's
Sundance Film Festival, All Over Me, the first feature by
director Alex Sichel, was another uninspiring effort, a film
bogged down by a plot and characters that are underwhelming at
best. This is a film so intensely depressing, so full of its own
self importance, as if the film makers have forgotten that cinema
is meant to be savoured by us all, not by a select few. While the
central performances are fine, especially that of star-in
the-making Tara Subkoff as the tragically disposed Ellen, and the
film is well-meaning enough, it rambles on to its inconclusive
conclusion when we've never really got to know these girls. It's
a sad film, almost relentlessly so, a film about growing up where
the growth seems to have been stagnating."
Paul Fischer
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CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 1
Unfavourable: 1
Mixed: 0
__________________
ALL OVER ME (M15+)
(US)
CAST: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Cole Hauaser, Wilson
Cruz,l Ann Dowd, Leisha Hailey, Pat Briggs, Shawn Hatosy, Vincent
Pastore
DIRECTOR: Alex Sichel
PRODUCER: Dolly Hall
SCRIPT: Sylvia Sichel
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Joe DeSalvo
EDITOR: Sabine Hoffmann
MUSIC: Bill Coleman
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Amy Silver
RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: Palace
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: Sydney: February 26, 1998; Melbourne:
March 19, 1998
AWARDS: Winner, Teddy Bear for Best Feature Film - 47th
Berlin International Film Festival 1997; Winner, Reader’s
Prize of the Siegessaule, 47th Berlin International
Film Festival 1997; Official Selection Sundance Film Festival,
1997
AUSTRALIAN VIDEO DISTRIBUTOR: Palace
AUSTRALIAN VIDEO RELEASE: July 7, 1998
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